Hunting Lessons
by Cronomon
Summary: "Taiwan's kind of new to the neighborhood, so I just thought I'd help her out with hunting and stuff, you know?" Nekotalia.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Axis Powers- Hetalia.**

**I haven't really... done anything lately. But then one day I was reading this awesome Nekotalia fic featuring Iceland and Liechtenstein, and I was like "hey, I wanna write something". So I did.**

**If you're gonna wonder why Hong Kong says "kind of" or the such a lot, I think it's just 'cause that's the way he talks or something like that. **

**Anyways, please enjoy!**

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Hunting Lessons

"Hunting's kind of a pain, but I guess it's necessary." Hong Kong sighed to himself as he trotted to the field.

Xiang was a pretty cool owner, he had to admit, but sometimes when he was drawing or whatever he would forget that he'd let Hong Kong outside and then just not let him back in, which was sort of annoying. Especially if he was hungry. It was late now, probably around midnight, but Xiang would be too busy gaming to remember his cat, so Hong Kong had no choice but to travel to the field to hunt.

Sometimes when he was out at night he would run into a few other neighborhood cats. Korea was usually out there, since Yong Soo had a memory span of a goldfish except for when he was claiming things as part of his country's history. Occasionally there was Thailand, and if he was lucky he'd find China or Japan, who would give him some hunting tips and a friendly flick on the ear before going back to their own households. Enviously, Yao and Kiku never forgot about their own pets, and always seemed to be awake late enough to let them back in.

Hong Kong let out a quiet exasperated groan as he approached the grassy area, the tip of his tail twitching in irritation. "I sort of wish Xiang would be as responsible as them. Hunting's really tiring. And it sort of ruins the whole idea of being a housecat if I have to find food for myself."

He shook his head, and then lifted his nose, trying to find any sort of prey scent. He stalked through the grass, tasting the air every couple of seconds, before finally coming across a mousey aroma. He paused, ears turning back and forth to try and catch any noises it might be making, and scanning the area around him with his lowlight vision. After a few moments, he crept forward softly, soon coming across the very mouse he'd scented.

It was nibbling on a grass stalk, something Hong Kong found he enjoyed doing to help digest fresh meat, and was completely oblivious to the oncoming danger. Hong Kong allowed himself a glimmer of triumph for finding a piece of prey so soon, and then bunched his hind legs, preparing the leap that would lead him to his meal.

Narrowing his eyes, he calculated how far he would have to jump so that he was near enough to end the mouse's life with a single bite or swipe, but not so close that he would land on top of it, which would simply ruin the food. His claws unsheathed, and his tongue almost unconsciously ran over his lips.

Then, a white blur barreled by, which, to Hong Kong, was very much unexpected. And annoying, since it had effectively scared away his meal.

The white blur, which in fact turned out to be another cat, hissed in irritation, and waved its tail side to side. "Darn it! I almost had that one."

Hong Kong sat up, tilting his head to one side as he observed the white cat. It still hadn't noticed him and was now licking its chest fur in what may be embarrassment. Judging by her voice and the small pink flowers behind both her ears, she was most likely a she-cat. And as it turned out, she was not entirely white, as the tip of her tail and her ears were brown. Well, probably brown. They were the only things on her body not glowing under the full moon.

"Okay," she muttered, her back still completely turned to him. "Next time for sure! I'll definitely catch something before the night is over."

Hong Kong decided that now was probably a good time to announce his presence, and maybe give a bit of advice. After all, he didn't really want her to ruin his catch again with her ungraceful and terribly loud galloping.

So just as she was about to dash away, he let out a meow.

"Sorry, but I kind of don't think you'll really catch anything with all the noise you're making." She turned her head in astonishment, and he continued. "I mean, you're super loud and stuff, so you'd probably scare all the prey away. Plus, anything that's too deaf to hear you, like that mouse just now, would definitely be able to tell you're coming if you're just gonna run towards them like that." He flicked an ear. "You're kind of a sucky hunter."

Apparently, she didn't appreciate his advice too much, because even though now she was fully facing him, her fur was beginning to bristle and her words came out as a hostile growl. "Well, who are you to tell me that? I don't exactly see you feasting on anything."

He blinked, a little surprised at her offensiveness. "Sorry. I mean, I would be eating a mouse right now, except you chased it away."

"Maybe if you're so great of a hunter you would have caught it before I could find it," she retorted snappily.

Hong Kong dipped his head, unsure of why she was acting so angry but not wanting to take the argument any further. "I'm sorry if I made you upset. I'm just saying, you should really learn how to hunt before you actually try."

The she-cat frowned, seemingly having calmed down but still not looking very happy. "Sorry that I haven't had as great a teacher as you clearly did." She sat down, looking at him in a cross of suspicion and curiosity. "Who are you, anyways?"

Relieved that her tone had lessened in harshness, Hong Kong lifted his head and answered in his best semi-somewhat-not-really-social voice, "My name is Hong Kong. And I wouldn't say my teachers are that great- sometimes China and Japan mess up, too." Forgetting the fact that she probably didn't know who China and Japan were, he went on. "I haven't really seen you before. Did you just move here or something?"

The she-cat must have accepted his friendly tone, because suddenly she was acting a lot more affable, too. She nodded in reply to his question, going on to explain. "My owner and I moved here last week. Every day she lets me outside so that I can have some sunlight and explore a little, but today I think she must have been really distracted, because she forgot to let me back inside."

"I see," Hong Kong nodded. "Well, don't worry about it. I think there's just something about this town that makes owners kind of forget about their cats. There're tons of other cats that are left outside overnight. Xiang's always forgetting about me."

The she-cat looked astonished. "That must be awful! If all the humans are like that, how do you know they still care about you?"

Hong Kong shrugged. "Xiang's distracted kind of easily, but I know he feels bad when he forgets about me because when I come home the next morning he always gives me some dim sum. It's really tasty and stuff, but I'm not really that hungry when I go back, since I usually spend my time here hunting."

The last few words came out as an accident, and he examined her expression hurriedly to make sure that she hadn't taken it the wrong way. He didn't want her to suddenly get defensive again. But the she-cat only ducked her head sheepishly.

"I know I'm not that good of a hunter. This is my first time trying. I just got so testy with you because I was upset I wasn't getting anything." She let out a short _mrrow_ of embarrassment. "I shouldn't have done that. Sorry."

"No worries," Hong Kong replied dismissively. "Hunting isn't that easy, anyways. I needed a lot of help from China and Japan before I could start by myself." He suddenly straightened up, having been struck by an idea. "If you want, I could try and teach you."

His offer clearly caught the she-cat's attention, and she leaned forward excitedly. "Really? You would do that?"

"Well, why not? You're new around here, so you probably need all the help you can get."

The she-cat purred happily, her mood completely the opposite of what it had been a couple minutes ago. "That's great! Thanks so much, Hong Kong. I guess you really are nicer than you look." She paused suddenly, looking once again embarrassed at what she had said.

Hong Kong shrugged. He got that a lot, anyway. "Whatever. So, since I'm your new teacher, why don't you introduce yourself to me?"

She nodded cheerfully. "Alright. My name is Taiwan, and my owner is a really cute and fashionable girl. She spoils me all the time with tasty stuff like fried fish, and she even lets me sleep on her bed! Like I said, we moved here last week so we don't really know our way around, but we really want to make some new friends." She looked at him hopefully. "Hong Kong, since you're my teacher now does that make us friends?"

Hong Kong blinked, taken aback by her sudden talkativeness and her even more sudden question. Even though he'd lived here practically all his life, he didn't really have all too many of what he considered close friends. China and Japan were more like instructors than companions, and Thailand was just kind of the the social neighbor. Korea he viewed as sort of an annoying cousin, so maybe that made him his friend. Yeah. One friend. Zero points for Hong Kong...

"I guess," he answered finally. "I wouldn't mind it."

Taiwan purred again, giving a small bounce of joy. "That's great! I made a new friend!" She crouched down playfully. "I look forward to our lessons, Hong Kong. And maybe sometime you could introduce me to your other friends."

"Sure," he agreed easily. She was really energetic... it was kind of tiring being around her, but in a good way, unlike Korea. She was friendly, and honestly a little sweet. Maybe now it would be more fun whenever Xiang left him outside.

"So? When do our lessons start?"

Hong Kong tilted his head to one side. "Well, I don't see why we can't start right now..."

ˆˆˆˆˆˆˆˆ

"See, the most important rule in hunting is to always stay quiet. Since we're cats, that should be easy for us, you know?"

Taiwan nodded, a look of sheer concentration on her face.

"When you walk, all you gotta do is let each paw down gently. But you also have to be careful of twigs or pebbles, since those things are kind of loud. So see, just do it like me."

Hong Kong crouched down, and easily slid through the grass, carefully stepping over any fallen sticks in his path. After a few moments of slinking around, he straightened, looking over at Taiwan. "You wanna try now?"

"Alright."

She lowered herself to the ground, sliding each paw forward as she attempted to mimic what her teacher had just done. He watched with approval. She was certainly a fast learner... all she had to do was fix some minor details.

"Not bad, but unless you lower your tail, too, any creature will see you coming."

"You can try going faster, you know. When you're hunting, speed is also kind of important."

"You're doing good with the sticks, but watch it when you kick the pebbles. Those things can ruin any good catch."

"Sliding isn't the only way to prowl. It's kind of dirty and bothersome. Lifting up your paws works, too."

"Try to stay as close to the ground as possible. Even if it feels weird or whatever. The lower the better."

"You might also wanna-."

Taiwan suddenly straightened up, letting out a hiss of frustration and pain as she examined her right forepaw. "I stepped on a rock!" She began licking it frantically, leading Hong Kong to assume that it must have been a pretty sharp rock.

He approached her, already scenting the blood. "Where's the rock now? We might as well get rid of it so it doesn't screw anyone else up."

"In my paw," she mumbled between licks.

Hong Kong frowned. A pebble in a pad was never good. It was always uncomfortable, and kind of painful, too. He lowered his head to look at her paw. "Let me see it." When she retreated her head, he sniffed around it, finally finding it wedged deeply enough in. "That looks troublesome. But nothing that can't be fixed."

He clamped his teeth around the small edge poking out, barely registering her soft squeak of surprise, and then swiftly jerked it out. The squeak quickly became a yowl, but he ignored it as he tossed the pebble away. "There we go." More blood was oozing out of her pad, and he lapped at it gently. Licking had healing powers, after all. "Alright, that should do it."

Hong Kong gave the scratch one last examination before backing away, licking his lips to get rid of the metallic taste of blood in his mouth. "Sorry. That was probably kind of my fault. You were doing fine on your own, I should have just had you move on to the next step."

Taiwan shook her head, gingerly pressing her paw back to the ground and then easily adding more weight to it. "I want to be good at this. And besides, you helped so that makes it okay. Can we continue the lesson now?"

"Nah, I should probably start heading back. Xiang stays up late, but he gets up early, too. I'll need to be by the door when he gets up." He shrugged. "You can keep on practicing if you want. See you around."

She looked slightly disappointed, but he didn't say anything more as he turned around and began to trot back to his house. It was kind of awkward, since she hadn't really said any sort of farewell to him, but he didn't really want to look back. So he kept on moving until finally he was back in the streets and on his way home.

Whatever. Even if she hadn't said good-bye, they would still see each other the next time they were both locked out. He was her teacher now.

And besides, they were friends, too... apparently.

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**I should probably continue this, since the ending is so open-ended. And rushed.**

**This was originally gonna be a one-shot, but then it would've been a really long one-shot, and I really need to get around to doing my homework, so I just ended it here and was like "whatever..."**

**So, hope you enjoyed it! Please review! And hopefully I'll come around to continuing/finishing this story...**


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